On July 24, 2015, Austin Stephanos, age 14, and his friend Perry Cohen set out on a fishing trip from Jupiter Inlet, Florida, aboard Austin's 19-foot single-engine Seacraft boat. Both boys were experienced boaters, and their plan was to stay close to shore. However, a storm with strong winds developed that afternoon, and the boys never returned.
Their last communication with their families was a text message and a Snapchat photo sent in the early afternoon. By the evening, when they failed to come back, they were reported missing, prompting a massive search operation by the U.S. Coast Guard and numerous volunteers. Despite covering over 50,000 square miles of ocean, the search was officially called off on July 31, 2015, though private efforts continued for some time afterward.
Austin and Perry’s boat was sighted two days after their disappearance, but it wasn’t recovered until March 2016 when it was found off the coast of Bermuda. Items recovered from the boat included Austin's iPhone, but several important items like life jackets and a cooler were missing. The boys' bodies were never found, and they are presumed lost at sea.
The families of both boys experienced significant grief and legal conflicts in the years that followed, with lawsuits regarding negligence and disputes over the examination of evidence, including Austin's recovered iPhone. The case remains one of the most tragic maritime disappearances in recent Florida history. Austin's family established the AustinBlu Foundation, which advocates for boating safety and the use of emergency beacons.
Last Seen: Jul 24, 2015
